Tape or film clip



March 15, 1960 c. w. MILLS 2,928,538

TAPE 0R FILM CLIP Filed May 31, 1957 INVENTOR. CHARLES H- MILLS H ram-United States Patent TAPE 0R FILM CLIP Charles W. Mills, Plainville,Conn.

Application May 31, 1957, Serial No. 662,858

3 Claims. (Cl. 206-53) My invention relates to holding devices and isdirected particularly to a clip for holding a roll of wound material,such as magnetic tape and motion picture film, in place on a reel. a

It is diflicult to keep the loose end of a roll of magnetic tape andmovie film in place so that they will not unravel and be damaged, andyet be accessible when needed, by ordinary devices such as Scotch tape,rubber bands andthe like. As a result, the ends of such films or tapesin time become damaged to such an extent that they can no longer beused.

It 'is accordingly the principal object of my invention to provide aclip which is simple and eliective in holding a roll of tape or film onits reel while handling, threading, shipping, storing, editing,splicing, etc.

Another object of my invention is to provide a clip of the above naturewhich is of unitary construction, which can readily be applied to andremoved from a reel without damage to the tape or film and which willnot interfere with packaging said reel in an ordinary square container.

A more particular object of my invention is to provide a film clip ofthe character described, which comprises a central U-shaped handleportion the ends of which extend into opposed resilient arcuate tongportions adapted to gently and resiliently press against opposite sideportions of the reeled tape or film for holding the loose end in placeat any desired position along its length.

Another object is to provide a film or tape clip of the above natureincluding means for keeping the handle portion thereof outside of theperiphery of the reel where it can easily be reached for removal oradjustment, and which at the same time affords better holding of smallamounts of tape or film on the reel, and holding on of the clip when thereel is empty.

Still another object is to provide a clip of the above nature which willautomatically turn around a reel when the loose end of the roll of tapeis pulled away from the reel to readily allow observation of additionalportions of the tape or film without causing damage or unraveling.

A further object is to provide a device of the above nature which willbe simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to installand manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and very efiicientand durable in use.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following description when read with reference to theaccompanying drawings illustrating two forms in which the invention mayconveniently be embodied in practice.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 represents in perspective one form of the tape or film clipembodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view with portions broken away, illustrating the clipshown in Fig. 1 on a film holding spool or reel and indicating in brokenlines the shape of a box in which said reel is contained,

2,928,538 Patented Mar. 15, 1960 Fig. 3 illustrates, in perspective, asecond form of tape or film clip embodying the invention,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to that of Flg. 2 showing the embodimentillustrated in Fig. 3 in use, and

Fig. 5 is a side view of the film clip embodiment illus-' The clip 10can be made of any resilient, non-magnetic metal, but is preferably madefrom inexpensive durable, attractive and light-weight synthetic plasticsuch as Lucite or Plexiglas. (I

As is clearly evident in Figs. 1 and 2, the thickness of the handleportion 11 of the clip 10 may be somewhat greater than the thickness ofthe grasping members 12, 13 for providing greater stifiiness at thehandle. The clip 10 is also of uniform width, the width preferably beingsomewhat greater than the width of the film or tape with which the clipis to be used, yet narrow enough of course to fit easily within the reelR. By such construction, the reel sides or flanges will be buttressed tominimize the possibility of damage to the edges of the tape or filmduring storage, shipping or handling.

Fig. 2 illustrates the clip 10 in place on a reel R, such as a reel of 8mm. home movie film, for example, and shows how the grasping members 12,13 of the clip resiliently embrace the periphery of an amount of film Fwound thereon for gently holding it in place. The handle portion 11projects outwardly of the reel R, where it can readily be grasped forremoval, yet does not project far enough to interfere with packaging inthe usual square container C as represented by the broken lines in Fig.2.

Modified form The clip 14 illustrated in Figs. 3-5, differs from theclip 10 of Figs. 1 and 2 only in that the handle portion 15 thereof isof greater width than the grasping members 12,13, to provide a pair ofshoulders 15a which engage against the peripheral edges of the sides orflanges of the reel R when the clip 14 is applied thereto, asillustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. By this construction, the clip 14 is moreefiective in holding small amounts of tape or film on reels, and mayalso be kept attached to empty reels without looseness. portion 15 ofthe clip 14 is prevented from entering the reel regardless of the amountof tape on the reel, so that it will always be available for graspingand removal, at all times.

- Operation In use, the tong-like film clip grasping members 12, 13,will be gently pushed by the handle portion 15 between the reel flangesand over the roll F of'film or tape.

With full spools, the grasping members 12, 13 may be It will beunderstood that the handle it is't'o'be Understood that theseformsare'giv'en' by way" of illustration only, and that'the invention isnot limited to the particular disclosures, but may bemodifiedh andembodied in various other jeqnivalent forms "witholflt'fdepartingfromits .spirit. In short, the'invention includes all the modificationsandembodiments coming'w'ithinthe scope of the following claims.

end flanges of larger diameter than-said spindle, said clip, consisting"of a'narrow flexible band of thinresilient'nonmagnetic strip material,of greater width than said film or tape and'includlng a pair of opposedinwardlylco'ncave elongatedtong sections embracing the oppositejsidesjof1 said film or tape,.said tong sections having spacedfipartoutwardly'extending arms extending beyond theperiphery ofsaid flangesand integrally joined by anoutw'a'rdly con-.

' vex loop which serves as'a U-shaped handle to'permit said clip tobet-manually moved freely aboutthe circumference'of said roll'so thatthe end of saidfilm 0'1" tape may be readily grasped for observation orremoval.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which said handle is ofgreater width and thickness than saidtohg NI TED sTATEs Y-PATENTS595,059 Graham- Dec. 7, 1897 714,963 Steinkarnp Dec. 2, 1902 1,229,312Newhonse' June 12, 1917 1,274,344 Staub July so, 1918 1-,338,6 12Buschardt -Apr. 27, 1920 1,468,636 VHoeft,' a"; Sept. 25, 1923':.l,47,8;896 Perency: Dec. 25,1923 1,682,115 Cohn Aug. 28, 19282,3l0,l56 VanfiDer-Clute Feb. 2,.1943

- I FOREIGN-PATENTS 18,867 @GreatBritain amu...Q of 1910 said handle inorder to maintain it outside said flanges in accessible position at alltimes. t

3. The invention as defined in'cl'aim 1, in which said handle is ofgreater width thantsaid tong sections to provide shoulders at thejunction of said toggle portions in order to maintain said handleontside said flanges in accessible position at all times.

References fitd in the file of this patent 866,602 Germany Feb. 12,1959

